Red Lion firefighter Sean Christopher Roth told police that on Aug. 29, he and his girlfriend removed all of his belongings from his car — before he stuffed paper inside the dash and lit it, charging documents state.

When police began their investigation, they discovered the fire started in the center of the dash; however, the wiring in that area did not appear to have had any apparent electrical malfunctions, documents state.

On Friday, York Area Regional Police charged Roth, 39, of Windsor Township, with one count each of arson with intent to collect insurance, false/fraud/incomplete insurance claim, and risking a catastrophe.

Roth is free on $25,000 bail and has a preliminary hearing before District Judge John H. Fishel scheduled for Nov. 30, according to online court dockets.

He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Relieved of duty

After Roth was charged, he was placed on administrative leave from the Leo Fire Co., according to a news release from Fire Chief Benjamin Rodkey, posted Saturday to Facebook.

"The charges come as a shock to the department and the firefighting community as a whole," Rodkey wrote in the release.

Rodkey said Roth primarily worked for Prince George's County Fire/EMS in Maryland. That county also issued a news release on Saturday about Roth, who is a lieutenant there as well, stating he had been placed on administrative leave and will remain there, with pay, until further notice.

In a news release on Sunday, the Fire Chiefs’ & Fire Fighters’ Association of York County, Inc. Board of Governors placed Roth on a leave of absence "from being an instructor for any courses at the York County Fire School pending the outcome of his legal actions."

The news release states Roth is not an employee of the fire school, but as a state instructor for Harrisburg Area Community College, he had taught numerous classes at the fire school, according to the release sent by Association President Chad Deardorff.

Called to the fire

Just after 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, York Area Regional Police, along with members of the Yoe Fire Department, were sent to Roth's home in the 200 block of Cobblestone Court for a vehicle on fire, documents state.

Once there, police found the car on fire and saw a window burst out and flames spread through the passenger compartment. Firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire.

Roth told police the vehicle was "not acting right" and that he had removed all of his items from it prior to the fire. When he and his girlfriend were inside his home, they heard a noise outside and saw the car was on fire, documents state.

In an interview with police, Roth initially denied knowing what had caused the fire. He later admitted starting it when police began talking about how much money he owed on the vehicle and questioned his involvement in its cause, documents state.

"He told me that he utilized paper and placed it up inside the dash from the bottom and then lit it on fire with a butane lighter after he had cleaned the vehicle out," documents state.